Councilors hear from business owners

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

SPRINGFIELD City Councilor Domenic Sarno once again cited the Kennedy Fried Chicken shootings in a discussion on crime in the city at his Public Health and Safety sub-committee meeting on Wednesday.

The Board of License Commissioners will meet on Jan. 25 at 5:30 p.m. in room 220 of City Hall to take up the issue of the restaurant's lapsed common victualer's license. The hearing for the license, which the restaurant's owners must have to operate, had been scheduled for Jan. 14, but was continued at the request of the restaurant's lawyer.

Sarno said. "We were asleep at the switch [over the occurrences at Kennedy Fried Chicken]."

He added the Board of License Commissioners "didn't heed police suggestions" about the restaurant.

Sarno's remarks elicited remarks from Michael Mulchaey, the member of the city's Law Department assigned to work with the Board.

Mulcahey said the Board responded to problems brought before them at the restaurant in 2003 and 2004. The Board changed the closing time of the establishment from 4 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.

The Board does not have the same regulatory power over restaurants as it does over alcohol licenses, and Mulcahey said the Board wrote "strongly worded letters" urging the restaurant owners add security cameras to its premises, and hire off-duty police officers.

Mulcahey said that because no incidents had been brought to the Board's attention that the Board thought there were still police at the restaurant.

He noted the Board has received extra duties from Mayor Charles Ryan including policing car sale licenses and to focus on tax delinquency.

"The Board has been very effective," Mulcahey said.

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Sarno's committee also heard opinions on the recent remarks made by Police Commissioner Edward Flynn on wanting establishments in the Entertainment District to pool money to pay for off-duty police to patrol the district, rather than hiring officers to extra duty assignments inside of clubs.

Flynn said he was "about a month and a half away" from prohibiting officers to accept such assignments at the last meeting of Sarno's sub-committee.

Russell Denver, president of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield, told Sarno and City Councilor James Ferrera that although he was for "zero tolerance" when it came to street crime, he said the suggestion of club owners to pay for an off-duty officer whose service would benefit other businesses that did not hire them was "a little unfair."

Denver said that private business owners have got to be allowed to spend their money in their own way.

Steven Stein, one of the owners of the Hippodrome and the Skyplex, two downtown clubs, said the system they have of their own security staff and off-duty officers works well for them.

His partner, Michael Barrasso, said the club has spent $750,000 on security in the past several years and thought that club owners should have been asked for their input before Flynn made a final decision.

"It [Flynn's proposed policy] puts us and our managers in jeopardy." Barrasso said.